Anyone playing a 56 deg SW as their highest lofted wedge?

[rainkingjr]

Restocking the bag and ended up with a 56 degree SW which was graciously included with a set of irons I purchased. My dilemma is that I haven't carried a 56 in a long time. I usually go 52 & 58 or 54 & 60 depending on the PW. This now has me considering getting a 50 degree GW to fill the spot between the 46 deg PW and this 56. Anyone not carrying a Lob wedge? How has that worked out for you? Do you feel like not carrying a LW has limited you in any sense?

[Georgie Z]

playing a 53 as my highest wedge. it's been working out fine.

[Pahouse]

Playing a cleveland 56 with a nice grind on it so I can lay it open for the delicate shots.
Depending on the course I will throw in a 60 and drop the 5 wood. The strong pw lofts do create an issue with the wedges. I go 45/52/56

[aliikane]

I think it depends on the courses and conditions you play. I tried it for a while. The 56 is my most used wedge around the greens. I can hit low runners all the way to lob shots with my 56. However, the courses I play are really tough around the greens. They have lots of undulation, elevated greens, high bunkers, fast/hard greens, thick rough etc. So, about 20% of the shots around the green you just need that extra loft and extra spin. So, the 60 went back in the bag.

[fluffy265]

In over 20 years I've never had the need for anything higher than 56*.

J

[JimNewton]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuhNgKK_n6Q

[rainkingjr]

Nice video Jim. Makes sense.

[bwhitish]

Ive had a 56 as my highest lofted for about 15 years. Works just fine.

[Mitchell]

Carry a Vokey tvd 56* M grind as highest lofted wedge, started back doing so just as an experiment when getting accustomed to new wedge, versatile enough that I do not need anything higher.

[jmvargas]

if you have rocco or seve's short game talent a 56* should be good enough for all situations...

for the rest of us--including tiger and phil--the 60* or even higher makes it much simpler...

PS..there are just some shots where the 60*(or higher) is a better option---for me.

fwiw my gamer wedges are 45*/50*/55*/60*...

[joewce87]

I used to carry a Cleveland 56* and 60*, and always found that I could play the whole round with the 56* alone but couldn't do the same with the 60*. I've just taken out the 60* and replaced with a 64* so I'll have to see how that goes. I found with the LW it's hard to play certain shots compared to the 56 and the only time I use it is when I want a softer landing with not much green to work with and probably just off the green. Which IMO can be played just as well with the 56, I guess providing you have the right bounce/grind it should be good enough.

[kingarthur]

I carry 52/56 80% of the time, but I would add a 62 and take out the 3w if it's a course with lots of elevated greens.

[gpleonard]

50 & 56

[meth819]

I play a 50 and 56 and have no problem. I tend to run the ball on the green whenever I can so are very few circumstances that I really would need a 60. Opening a 56 works for when I need it

[btjones110]

Up until this summer, I had always went straight from PW to 56. I was very versatile with it and learned to make it work just fine. Now I go PW, GW, 56, 60. Definitely took some time getting used to it and really screwed up my game for a little while, but now my 60 is the go to wedge within 75 yards.

[BMC]

54 for me. TM ATV. Can open it easily for more loft. Great sole design.

[Golfdoctor]

Well, I just got rid of my 54* - 58* wedges and replaced them with a 55* wedge, see how it goes.

[phread59]

I am a 4 wedge guy. I flirted with 45,52,58. But I get so much use out of the 60 that I would never consider less. Heck If I could wrangle it I would bag a 64. Stupid 14 club rule .

Mark Shuman

[roundersmitty]

The highest I had in bag was a 54* Eye 2, and I recently added a Cleveland 588 58*. I'm glad I did, makes sand play and close chips easier. Years ago I had problems with 60-64 deg wedges. My judgement on some shots was off coming up short too often. IMO there is higher percentages going with a stronger lofted wedge and an easy swing, than a high lofted wedge and a hard swing.

[Man-Tek]

I have used a 56 for most of life. I play about 50 rounds a year and have a +1 handicap.
If you dont play regularly a 60 degree or higher makes it tough to dominate distance and play ir consistently.

[SuaSponteMn]

56* is plenty for me. I get the concept of a 60 or higher but frankly, if I'm in a spot where I need to use it, it's a really low % shot that I'm less likely to pull if anyway. Typically just take my medicine, aim for a safe spot with my 56*, and move on. Scores have improved drastically with this mentality too.

[shortgame85]

I play to an 11 handicap. I have found that the 56 degree wedge is enough for me. I own a 56.14 Spin Mill. I replaced the head last year with a new one (although discontinued I found a brand new head at a bargain price). I wish it had a little less bounce, say 11 degrees rather than 14. I think it would be more versatile with 11 degrees than 14.

[brew4eagle]

50, 56 for me. I can hit a high flop with the 56, but rarely choose to play high shots around the green. I prefer to get the ball on the green and rolling as soon as I can. I use the 50 (or P, 9, 8) when I have green to work with and the 56 when I'm short sided.

[upon3]

[quote name='fluffy265' timestamp='1409466474' post='10039119']
In over 20 years I've never had the need for anything higher than 56*.[/quote]

This.

For the entirety of my life, I have played with older-lofted clubs. Meaning, my 9-iron is a 48° loft and my PW is a 52°. I never carried more than that, ever. Until I got here, that is. I started carrying a 56° this year and don't feel the need to carry 3 wedges at this point. I have considered a high bounce 60° with that last spot in the bag, but for me, it makes more sense to help my long game with a 7-wood. I can do 98% of what I need around the green with the 52° and the 56°. At some point, I will likely seek out a 60° Vokey to play with, but for as much as I would use it, it would be a novelty for me.




doug

[Darth_Blader]

CG14 56* is my highest lofted club...has been for 2 seasons now. Time for a new wedge!

[Mike_C]

I carried only a 56 degree for most of my golfing life, can't remember when I added a 60 degree, maybe 15 years ago, maybe before that. But I actually did carry two different 56 degree wedges, one with a wide sole, a Hogan forty-seven, and a Ram Tom Watson tour grind wedge, I later replaced the Hogan with a newer Hogan 56 degree IIRC. The Hogans was for the sand and out of the rough, and the Ram was from the fairway and more for full swings... I was actually a much better wedge player back when I only had a 56 degree in the bag.... I used to basically do what Rocco was showing in the video, can't really say I could do that consistently any more.......

[Parzinski]

[quote name='JimNewton' timestamp='1409467554' post='10039147']
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuhNgKK_n6Q
[/quote]

Very similar to Monte's technique ....

[Riptide]

Gap wedge for that kind of setup is a must. At least to me. I got a set of Bio cell irons and found so me titleist wedges for a decent price and ended up getting a 52 and 56. Love my pitching wedge but I needed the 52 between the PW and 56.

Anything higher than the 56 seemed like a waste to me. I have a Vokey TVD 56M and it's versatile enough for me to not be able to justify the $$$ on a 60

[helopil8]

I carry a 52 & 56 and leave the 60 in the trunk. There are very few shots where the 60 is better than the 56. I can control distance on the 56 better (probably because I've worked more with it than the 60).

[bladehunter]

never owned anything more than 56 here either.....although there is a 60.04 sm5 in my clubs proshop that I have my eye on...not because I think I need the loft but because I want to hit the low bounce version...lol.. just like others have said..i can play any shot with the 56...but with the 60 your limited....try a 40 yard bunker shot with it....good luck getting it there...